1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique whereby a communication device of a user in a remote location uses image data that has been uploaded to a server device on a network by a photographer's camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent spread of digital cameras, digital video cameras, and so on, digital still image data and video data is not only being stored in household personal computers (PCs), but is also being uploaded to server devices on networks and shared with other users. Furthermore, in addition to information processing apparatuses such as personal computers, cellular phones, digital cameras, and the like have recently started being connected to networks and sharing digital images. Because it has become common for many users to share large amounts of image data using a variety of devices, managing digital image data using various types of systems has been proposed.
However, when a communication device of a user in a remote location uses image data from a provider, the user does not know the status of updates with respect to his/her desired image data. Therefore, it is necessary to access the server device that stores the image data each time that image data is to be received, which is burdensome for the user. Furthermore, an increase in the types of necessary image data leads to an increase in the number of times the server device is accessed, which increases the burden on the user.